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Coffee-Farm Tours

By

Elizabeth SeayStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated March 9, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

Craving a cup of coffee? Never mind the joe to go -- instead, go to the joe. With a piping-hot market for gourmet coffee, interest is growing in the finer points of the beverage, particularly how it's cultivated and prepared. Increasingly, coffee farms are tapping into that interest by offering tours of their fields and factories, complete with plenty of sample cups. And even if you'd rather give the coffee-picking contests a miss, perhaps a Hawaii coffee-country driving tour is your cup of tea. The good news for travelers is that vacationers and coffee beans both flourish in the same climates -- beautiful, temperate spots like Hawaii, Costa Rica, Sumatra, Kenya and Jamaica. These sites will help you get your java fix on vacation.

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SITE: konacoffeefest.com DESCRIPTION: Rich blend of resources, from farm links to a recipe for duck breast with "Kona Coffee & Raspberry Sauce." EASE OF USE: Perfect for road-tripping coffeeholics. Study how the tree was brought to Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great's interpreter/physician. COMMENT: Driving tours, maps, and lists of local coffee mills. Even teaches you to talk the talk: Experts call Kona "smooth with buttery and nutty overtones."

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SITE: coffeetour.com DESCRIPTION: Multimedia coffee tour at Cafe Britt's plantation in Costa Rica. EASE OF USE: Tourist-friendly and easy to digest. Handy overview of production from bean to cup plus tasting tips. (Taste it when it's cold -- who knew?) COMMENT: A sort of theme park of coffee-farm tours, complete with a stage show. Bonus: You can also plan a trip to a butterfly farm.

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SITE: javaventures.com DESCRIPTION: Features a half-dozen exotic tours for coffee pros, but amateurs are allowed to come along, too. EASE OF USE: A connoisseur's choice with seminars on organic growing techniques, a look at "solar powered coffee dryers," and the "entertaining coffee picking contest." COMMENT: Covers a tempting array of countries including Nicaragua, Brazil, and Panama -- but the site could use more specific info on itineraries.

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SITE: selvanegra.com DESCRIPTION: A detailed guide to the Selva Negra resort and coffee estate in Nicaragua. EASE OF USE: Sophisticated and comprehensive, with hiking guides and evocative photos of misty mountain vistas. COMMENT: Vivid window on the life of a coffee farm, with lots of earnest detail on ecologically friendly practices. Plus photos of the worker baseball team.

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SITE: durham-sanramon.org DESCRIPTION: Offers "ecotours" run by a sister-city partnership between Durham, N.C., and San Ramon, Nicaragua. EASE OF USE: Simple but well-rounded. Guidance on everything from packing (bring ear plugs to block out roosters in the morning) to tipping in Nicaragua. COMMENT: Be ready for an active tour. "For those who would like to help out, there is always work to do on the farm."